Use of caffeine in 19,660 U.S. adults: The role of overweight and obesity

Authors

Frank Beltran, Brigham Young UniversityFollow
Larry A. Tucker, Brigham Young UniversityFollow

Abstract

Caffeine is one of the most consumed drugs in the United States. PURPOSE: The present cross-sectional investigation was conducted to determine the relationships between BMI and waist circumference, and caffeine intake. The specific objective was to determine whether those with higher BMIs or larger waists consume more caffeine than other adults. METHODS: A sample of 19,960 randomly selected women and men representing the U.S. adult population was studied. Data was collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2009 through 2018. A number of covariates were controlled statistically to minimize their influence on the results (age, sex, race, alcohol use, smoking, dietary fiber intake, time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and total energy consumption. RESULTS: After adjusting for all the covariates, results showed that in U.S. men, there was a dose-response relationship between higher BMI levels and higher caffeine consumption (F=4.5, p=0.0056). Men with abdominal obesity also consumed more caffeine than men without abdominal obesity (F=4.1, p=0.0469). In U.S. women, after adjusting for all the covariates, there was a weaker but significant relationship between BMI levels and caffeine intake (F=3.6, p=0.0179). Women with abdominal obesity also consumed more caffeine than their counterparts (F=4.2, p=0.0431). CONCLUSION: Overall, this study found that U.S. men with larger body mass and waist levels choose to consume larger amounts of caffeine than their counterparts. U.S. women with larger body mass and waist levels also consume more caffeine than their counterparts, but the associations are weaker. It appears that the drug, caffeine, has multiple properties that are appealing to adults with higher BMI and waist circumference levels.

Recommended Citation

Beltran, Frank and Tucker, Larry A. (2024) "Use of caffeine in 19,660 U.S. adults: The role of overweight and obesity," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 14: Iss. 4, Article 39.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol14/iss4/39